When Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney had a first-round pick in the 2021 Entry Draft, 21st overall, he selected forward Fabian Lysell. It was a little surprising at the time that he fell that far, like James Hagens did last year. Hagens was once seen as the top overall pick in the 2025 Draft class, but tumbled for some reason down to No. 7 and the Bruins.
Lysell was never seen as the top overall pick in his Draft class, but he was predicted to go higher than 21st overall. After he was selected, he quickly rose to the top of the Bruins' prospect pool and was near the top for a couple of seasons.
Last season, he made his NHL debut with the Black and Gold, but this year, he's been stuck down in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Providence Bruins. Now, a couple of years into this time in the organization, the question should be asked: has his developmental window passed with the Black and Gold?
Has Fabian Lysell's developmental time passed with the Bruins?
Lysell had a short stint around Christmas in Boston and the NHL, but when things went off the rails over the final couple of months of the season, he got another look following what turned into a fire sale trade deadline. He ended up playing in 11 more games and scored his first career NHL goal, and he had two assists.
This season in 40 AHL games, Lysell has 14 goals and 20 assists with a plus/minus of plus-13. I know, that stat is fairly useless, but it tells you how much success Providence has when he's on the ice. The 5-foot-11, 186-pound wing has been good in the AHL and done just about everything he could do with the P-Bruins, but it hasn't translated into a role in Boston.
Sure, Sweeney continues to block prospects' ability to earn a spot in the NHL with free agent signings each summer. Lysell is 23 years old, and yes, he's still young, but now, you would have figured that he would have played more than 12 NHL games in Boston.
Sooner or later, Sweeney needs to pick an avenue to go down with Lysell. Does he trade him or ride it out with him without a clear path to Boston's roster full-time? That's the question that will have to be answered sooner or later. Lysell has voiced his frustration in the past, and that is never good.